THE DE TRAFFORD TRAGEDY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3859, 28 February 1928, Page 17

THE DE TRAFFORD TRAGEDY.

COUNTESS DE JANZE IN COURT. PARIS SHOOTING EPISODE. A FREE WOMAN. (From Oub Own Correspondent.) LONDON, January 10. The former Countess Alice de Janze, who, in March last, shot Mr Raymond de Trafford, a son of Sir Humphrey de Trafford, Bart., in a railway carriage at the Gare du Nord, and afterwards attempted to commit suicide, was sentenced by the Paris Correctional Court to six months* imprisonment', with the benefit of the First Offenders Act, and fined 100 francs (£1), on a charge of assaulting Mr de Trafford. This meant that she left the court a free woman.

As the ex-countess, who is an American by birth, had been released from prison several months ago, she did not appear m the dock, but occupied a seat in front of the judge. She is a small and extremely pretty brunette of 27, with wonderful dark eyes. She wore a smart grey tailored dress with a black cloche hat, a beautiful pearl necklace and a fur round her neck. She spoke somewhat doubtful French, with a strong American accent, and often had difficulty in making herself understood by the judge. MEETING IN KENYA. The latter reviewed the whole drama. The countess, he said, after she had been married for several years to the Count de Janze, had to go to Kenya, in Africa, for reasons of health. There she met Mr de Trafford. They fell in love. She returned to France, told her husband all about her liaison, and started divorce proceedings with a view to marrying Mr de Trafford. It was after the latter had consulted with his family, who were strongly opposed, as Roman Catholics, to his marrying a divorced woman, and threatening to stop his allowance, the judge went on, that Mr de Trafford came to Paris and informed the Countess de Janze that he could not marry her, and had decided to put an end to their associations. Driven mad by her lover’s decision, the countess bought a revolver with the intention of committing suicide, and when giving Mr de Trafford a last kiss in the train that was to take him back to England she fired at him and then shot herself.

ihe Countess pleaded guilty, but said she had no intention of killing Mr de Trafford. In a faint voice the Countess told how she became the mistress of Mr de Trafford after he had promised to many her if she obtained a divorce. On March 25, she added, Mr de Trafford came to Paris from London, and told her at dinner that the projected marriage was impossible. “ I lack words to describe a man who leaves the woman who has compromised her life for him,” interposed the iudge. Mainly in monosyllables the Countess replied to the judge’s questions. She described how she bought the revolver, how she loaded it in the train, and how she shot Mr de Trafford and then her-, self. NOT ANGRY WITH MR DE TRAFFORD. “ I want to make it clear,” she said, when her evidence was finished. “ that I was not angry with Mr de Trafford, who was unhappy and as miserable as I was. I understood why he could not keep his promise to marry me. I did not intend to shoot him.” “ But you shot him treacherously,” retorted the judge, “just as you bent forward to kiss him.” " I had the revolver in my hand,” returned the Countess. “ I wanted to kill myself. Mr de Trafford kissed me, and I do not know what hanpened then. It was just like what I have read about people’s feelings when they are drowning.” The Judge: You have it in your favour at least that your lover did not keep his promise to marrv you and that you were in very ill-health. DE TRAFFORD’S EVIDENCE. Mr de Trafford then gave ...evidence. He wore a black lounge suit and a black tie and spoke clearly, though bis French was not fluent. After describing his meeting with the Countess at Nairobi (Kenya), he said : I asked her to marry me. When came to see her in Paris I was determined to marry her. After.four days n Paris I returned and told my family of mv intention. Mv family would not ’ ear of it.” “ You ought to have found that out before you made this unhappy woman your mistress and ruined her life,” said the iudge. “ Yes,” answered Mr de Trafford, nodding his head quietly. “ I came to Paris and told her that I could not marry her. We had lunched on March 27 at the Restaurant Laperouse, and we did not talk much during luncheon.” “ Whose idea was it to go to the gunsmith’s shop? ” was the next question. “ The countess said she wanted to buy something, but not what it was,” he answered. “ I was buying some camp equipment at another counter, and I did not see her buy the revolver. *‘ We went next to the Gare du Nord and got into the train. We chatted on the platform, and went to the buffet, where I told her again I could not marry her. When we got back into the compartment we sat down and talked. “ Suddenly I saw a revolver in her hand, and I caught her arm. I did not think she was going to shoot me, but herself. A moment later th e revolver went oil”

You accept the full responsibility for what ha 3 happened ? ” queried the judge. Yes, I do,” answred Mr de Trafford.

The Public Prosecutor said it was hard ta charge a sick woman who had shot a man who had broken his promise to marry her after she had obtained a divorce from her husband and left her two httU children for him. He pleaded for pity for her, asking the court to pass only the minimum sentence. A TRAGIC FIGURE. The trial will be memorable for the intensely tragic figure of the countess and P ol SP an tly dramatic moments. the countess appeared before the court thin almost to emaciation, with big dark eyes burning out of an ashen white face the simplicity of her dress harmonised with the frankness of her manner. She made no attempt to shun her responsi tulity, and she had not a single word of re Pr°ach for Mr Raymond de Trafford. ' bne had been consumptive from girlhood, and is highly strung and impetuous. The Public Prosecutor, in addition j g i f ° r extrem ely mild sentence, pleaded almost a s much for the defendant as her own counsel did.